Laun"dry*man (?), n.; pl. Laundrymen (&?;). A man who follows the
business of laundering.
Lau"ra (?), n. [LL., fr. Gr. (&?;) lane, defile, also, a kind of
monastery.] (R. C. Ch.) A number of hermitages or cells in the same
neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior.
C. Kingsley.
Lau*ra"ceous (?), a. [From Laurus.] (Bot.) Belonging to, or resembling,
a natural order (Lauraceæ) of trees and shrubs having aromatic bark and
foliage, and including the laurel, sassafras, cinnamon tree, true
camphor tree, etc.
Lau"rate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of lauric acid.
Lau"re*ate (?), a. [L. laureatus, fr. laurea laurel tree, fr. laureus
of laurel, fr. laurus laurel: cf. F. lauréat. Cf. Laurel.] Crowned, or
decked, with laurel. Chaucer.
To strew the laureate hearse where Lycid lies.
Milton.
Soft on her lap her laureate son reclines.
Pope.
Poet laureate. (b) One who received an honorable degree in grammar,
including poetry and rhetoric, at the English universities; -- so
called as being presented with a wreath of laurel. [Obs.] (b) Formerly,
an officer of the king's household, whose business was to compose an
ode annually for the king's birthday, and other suitable occasions;
now, a poet officially distinguished by such honorary title, the office
being a sinecure. It is said this title was first given in the time of
Edward IV. [Eng.]
Lau"re*ate, n. One crowned with laurel; a poet laureate. "A learned
laureate." Cleveland.
Lau"re*ate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Laureated (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Laureating (?).] To honor with a wreath of laurel, as formerly was done
in bestowing a degree at the English universities.
Lau"re*ate*ship, n. State, or office, of a laureate.
Lau`re*a"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. lauréation.] The act of crowning with
laurel; the act of conferring an academic degree, or honorary title.
Lau"rel (?), n. [OE. lorel, laurer, lorer, OF. lorier, laurier, F.
laurier, (assumed) LL. Laurarius, fr. L. laurus.] 1. (Bot.) An
evergreen shrub, of the genus Laurus (L. nobilis), having aromatic
leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white
flowers in their axils; -- called also sweet bay. The fruit is a purple
berry. It is found about the Mediterranean, and was early used by the
ancient Greeks to crown the victor in the games of Apollo. At a later
period, academic honors were indicated by a crown of laurel, with the
fruit. The leaves and tree yield an aromatic oil, used to flavor the
bay water of commerce.
The name is extended to other plants which in some respect resemble the
true laurel. See Phrases, below.
2. A crown of laurel; hence, honor; distinction; fame; -- especially in
the plural; as, to win laurels.
3. An English gold coin made in 1619, and so called because the king's
head on it was crowned with laurel.
Laurel water, water distilled from the fresh leaves of the cherry
laurel, and containing prussic acid and other products carried over in
the process.
American laurel, or Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia. See under
Mountain. -- California laurel, Umbellularia Californica. -- Cherry
laurel (in England called laurel). See under Cherry. -- Great laurel,
the rosebay (Rhododendron maximum). -- Ground laurel, trailing arbutus.
-- New Zealand laurel, Laurelia Novæ Zelandiæ. -- Portugal laurel, the
Prunus Lusitanica. -- Rose laurel, the oleander. See Oleander. -- Sheep
laurel, a poisonous shrub, Kalmia angustifolia, smaller than the
mountain laurel, and with smaller and redder flowers. -- Spurge laurel,
Daphne Laureola. -- West Indian laurel, Prunus occidentalis.
Lau"reled (?), a. Crowned with laurel, or with a laurel wreath;
laureate. [Written also laurelled.]
Lau*ren"tian (?), a. Pertaining to, or near, the St. Lawrence River;
as, the Laurentian hills.
Laurentian period (Geol.), the lower of the two divisions of the
Archæan age; -- called also the Laurentian.
Lau"rer (?), n. Laurel. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Lau"res*tine (?), n. [NL. lautus tinus, fr. L. laurus the laurel +
tinus laurestine. See Laurel.] (Bot.) The Viburnum Tinus, an evergreen
shrub or tree of the south of Europe, which flowers during the winter
months. [Written also laurustine and laurestina.]
Lau"ric (?), a. Pertaining to, or derived from, the European bay or
laurel (Laurus nobilis).
Lauric acid (Chem.), a white, crystalline substance, C12H24O2,
resembling palmitic acid, and obtained from the fruit of the bay tree,
and other sources.
Lau*rif"er*ous (?), a. [L. laurifer; laurus + ferre to bear.]
Producing, or bringing, laurel.
Lau"rin (?), n. [Cf. F. laurine.] (Chem.) A white crystalline substance
extracted from the fruit of the bay (Laurus nobilis), and consisting of
a complex mixture of glycerin ethers of several organic acids.
Lau"ri*nol (?), n. [Laurin + -ol.] (Chem.) Ordinary camphor; -- so
called in allusion to the family name (Lauraceæ) of the camphor trees.
See Camphor.
Lau"ri*ol (?), n. Spurge laurel. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Lau"rite (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Min.) A rare sulphide of osmium
and ruthenium found with platinum in Borneo and Oregon.
Lau"rone (?), n. [Lauric + - one.] (Chem.) The ketone of lauric acid.
||Lau"rus (?), n. [L., laurel.] (Bot.) A genus of trees including,
||according to modern authors, only the true laurel (Laurus nobilis),
||and the larger L. Canariensis of Madeira and the Canary Islands.
||Formerly the sassafras, the camphor tree, the cinnamon tree, and
||several other aromatic trees and shrubs, were also referred to the
||genus Laurus.
||
Laus (?), a. Loose. [Obs.] Chaucer.
La"va (lä"v; 277), n. [It. lava lava, orig. in Naples, a torrent of
rain overflowing the streets, fr. It. & L. lavare to wash. See Lave.]
The melted rock ejected by a volcano from its top or fissured sides. It
flows out in streams sometimes miles in length. It also issues from
fissures in the earth's surface, and forms beds covering many square
miles, as in the Northwestern United States.
Lavas are classed, according to their structure, as scoriaceous or
cellular, glassy, stony, etc., and according to the material of which
they consist, as doleritic, trachytic, etc.
Lava millstone, a hard and coarse basaltic millstone from the
neighborhood of the Rhine. -- Lava ware, a kind of cheap pottery made
of iron slag cast into tiles, urns, table tops, etc., resembling lava
in appearance.
Lav"a*ret (?), n. [F.] (Zoöl.) A European whitefish (Coregonus
laveretus), found in the mountain lakes of Sweden, Germany, and
Switzerland.
<! p. 835 !>
La*vat"ic (l*vt"k), a. Like lava, or composed of lava; lavic.
La*va"tion (?), n. [L. lavatio: cf. OF. lavation.] A washing or
cleansing. [Obs. or R.]
Lav"a*to*ry (?), a. Washing, or cleansing by washing.
Lav"a*to*ry, n.; pl. Lavatories (#). [L. lavatorium: cf. lavatoire. See
Lave to wash, and cf. Laver.] 1. A place for washing.